Snowday by B.R. Maycock | @BRMaycock

This may very well be the first and only time you’ll see anything remotely festive on this here blog. (Just call me The Grinch) But when the absolutely wonderful Bernadette Maycock asked me if I could feature her new novel Snowday, I just couldn’t say no. So today, I’m sharing an extract from this feel-good romantic comedy, which you can read right after I tell you a little bit about Snowday.

Eloise is too busy juggling the chaos of three kids, an ever present ex-husband and a demanding boss to even remember the last time dating crossed her mind.

But as soft snow falls silently all around, romance twinkles with the flakes.

After being single for so long, Eloise suddenly has a lot of choices. Too many choices. Will anyone be worthy of melting the guard around her heart to let love in?

The supermarket was full of late-night shoppers. Eloise watched as people snatched various items from the shelf and then replaced them haphazardly when they realised they weren’t what they were looking for. The stress was palpable, the mood both terse and frantic. With more snowfalls due, people wanted to be ready for Christmas. She guessed she should be panicking too but actually she was, perhaps stupidly, trying to get it out of her mind.

The Disneyland Paris thing would kill her. They’d always gone to Christmas Eve mass then had a cosy night by the fire watching any family movies or game shows on telly. Christmas Day, Gary’s family dropped by after dinner to exchange presents with the kids. It was a well-rehearsed sequence of events by now and the thought of missing it made her want to cry. She loved the decorations, the lights splayed about the fireplace that held their personalised Christmas stockings for Santa Claus. How could she leave all that behind and go to a place supposedly filled with magic, as part of a couple who didn’t want to share their lives anymore?

She tossed some bubbles into the trolley for the younger kids, praying that the day would be nice enough that they could play outside, then moved onto the confectionary aisle. People were stocking up on their Celebrations and Roses tins, which were on special. Eloise took three, along with a tin of biscuits. After a moment’s consideration, she got wrapping paper too. She bypassed the cards which, in years gone by had been Gary’s request, although she had been the one to fill them in, with the two of them laughing as he simply added “and Gary” at the end.

She got some novelty socks and games for her brother, some gift sets for her sister and a “home is where the hearth is” ornament for her parents. Raised voices behind her made her turn. She tried not to stare. Watching people argue always made her neck flame. Herself and Gary had fought constantly and consistently. Later of course they would laugh calling it harmless bickering, but it wasn’t really. When there’d sat through the film The Break Up with Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston they’d watched in silence, seeing themselves on screen, two people who couldn’t talk without arguing bitterly with one another.

Although as Eloise watched the two people screaming into each other’s faces as their child wailed (why would you bring your child to a supermarket at this time of the night?), she gave herself some consolation that they’d never been that vocal. Oh and Gary would never call her a slag. And she’d never use the c word at him. Oops, their venom was now being aimed in her direction. Time to go! She looked at her watch. She had been there too long already and her phone was buzzing angrily. Crap! What was she doing starting her Christmas shopping? She had nothing solid for the next day yet.

She picked up. ‘Gary? Hi I’m sorry, I just got side-tracked.’

‘I need to go Eloise, and I don’t want to leave them in the house on their own.’ From the way he said it, he had every intention of doing it.

She froze. ‘Then don’t.’

‘I’d love to not but I honestly have to go.’ Why had she done this? Why hadn’t she just… She shook her head. As usual she hadn’t had an option. She could have gone late into work the following day, but things were ropey enough as it was. She wasn’t Mr Staunton’s favourite person seeing that apparently she’d given his wife hints of freedom.

‘Fifteen minutes.’

‘Cora is fourteen years old…’

‘Don’t even think about it. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll get back to you.’ She snapped so loudly people looked over at her. The shouty couple walking by looked at her in interest.

‘Stupid, bloody, selfish,’ her monologue erupted as she raced off, firing sausages, fish fingers and every other frozen food that would suffice into the trolley. She didn’t have time to think out recipes and the guilt she got from her food choices were compounded by a woman walking by who looked into Eloise’s trolley at the litres of fizzy drinks (bought for half price for Christmas) and frozen goods. She couldn’t even fake smile at the lady, instead choosing to blush. On remembering she had no bread and milk, Eloise whirled around and ran full pelt, dodging irritated patrons who openly cursed her with a ‘what the?’ She apologised as she ran.

‘You’re going the wrong way,’ a young man who was stacking the shelves said merrily as she passed him. ‘There’s a system. It stops crashes happening.’ She ignored him, manoeuvring around his palette of Christmas stock and narrowly missing someone also running full pelt in the opposing direction. She afforded herself a quick glance to see if the shelf stacker had noticed. He gave a thumbs up and a smile.

Dear Eloise, here’s a helpful hint : online shopping 😉

If this has left you wanting more, you can grab yourself a copy of Snowday right now!

When Bernadette Maycock isn’t dreaming up vibrant leads for romantic comedies, she’s ingesting books for her blog (https://brmaycock.wordpress.com/), in particular chick lit (her first love!) books, romantic comedies and thrillers. She can also be found playing footie or watching Marvel, DC or Star Wars movies and cartoons in Co. Westmeath, Ireland with her brilliantly out there husband, Keith, and their four epic little men.

Her debut ‘It Started With A Snub’ and Christmas romantic comedy ‘Snowday’ are available now on Amazon, and Bernadette is currently working on a three part series about AbbeyGlen Village, whose luck is about to change …

She has one goal and that’s simply to make readers smile and/ or laugh (a splutter rates highest;)).

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